In 2021, Taylor Swift released two albums with the subtitle Taylor’s Version. Swift’s first six albums were all produced and released through Big Machine Records. However, when her contract ended in 2018, she left them for Republic Records, leaving her masters (her original recordings) and the ownership of her songs behind.
According to Swift, the only way she could keep her masters was “to sign back up to Big Machine Records and ‘earn’ one album back at a time, one for every new one [she] turned in.” Swift denied this offer, and Big Machine Records was bought by Scooter Braun who had a long history of bullying and manipulating recording artists.
Swift tried to enter negotiations with Braun. However, before negotiations began, Braun tried to force her and her team into signing an ‘ironclad NDA’ which would prevent them from speaking out against anything that he had done, before or after negotiations. In an Instagram post, Swift explained this situation and added “he would never even quote me a price […] these master recordings were not for sale to me.” Braun ultimately sold Swift’s albums for $300 million in an investment fund.
Swift later announced on Good Morning America that she would re-record her first six albums as soon as her contract allowed. One year later, Swift’s first five albums could legally be re-recorded, and, after winning Artist of the Year at the AMAs, she officially announced that re-recordings were underway.
The re-recordings, created as a way to ensure that Swift owns her work, have meant a lot to fans as well. “Taylor’s version has represented female empowerment,” Naomi Fitton stated, “and taking back power in my own life.”
Fans have come up with many ways to celebrate the releases, Aleigh Lasky-Hoffman, a junior who’s been invested in Taylor’s Version albums since Fearless TV, spoke about one of her celebrations, “when the Speak Now one came out, I stayed up to midnight with my friends, and we listened to all the vault tracks first, and we instantly fell in love with them… we ended up losing our voices because we were so obsessed with it.”
October 27th marks the release of the fourth Taylor’s Version album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version). It comes with five tracks ‘from the Vault,’ as well as Taylor’s version of every previously released song. “I’m so excited, and I can’t wait for the vault tracks,” Abigail Perry shared, “Taylor Swift has said they’re her favorite ones, so I’m excited.”
